oa CORRECTED: Publishing a Saint: The Textual Tradition of the Life and Miracles of St Symeon of Trier

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Vita et miracula s. Symeonis Treverensis (BHL 7963-7964) is a hagiographic composite text written by various authors and released in several versions. Symeon died in the summer of 1035. The first version vita and miracula were composed within months, in order to be sent to the pope, who quickly canonized him. The author was Eberwinus, abbot of no fewer than three monasteries, who had known Symeon in person. For as long as Eberwinus lived, probably until c. 1040, he was undoubtedly in charge of polishing the text of the vita and adding new contents to the miracula. His successor as author, identified by a single manuscript, was Warnerus, schoolmaster of the collegiate church of St Symeon. Several additions to the miracula were made, the last one by an anonymous writer probably at St Symeon’s in 1086. A very complex manuscript transmission ensued, characterized by several releases. This chapter maps relationships between all fifty-eight hitherto known extant witnesses. In addition to traditional textual criticism, the examination is based on computational analysis, with various algorithms applied. The result is a well-grounded hypothetical stemma, a point of reference for our historical enquiry into the publication and reception of St Symeon’s vita and miracula. The textual history provides insights into how a saintly cult might be built in the high Middle Ages.